Katsu-ya has a reputation. They apparently also have a following. It is so popular that you have to book in advance to get straight in. We waited for an hour. This is usually not a problem, because it just makes you that more hungry, and you can also treat yourself with watching the head sushi chefs do their wonders behind the sushi bar. We finally got our table and got ourselves ready for some good and tasty fish… But.

I think I have to say that we were sadly disappointed. I think with sushi, you are supposed to be inspired and come out of the restaurant feeling good afterwards, but this certainly wasn’t the case with Katsu-ya. I read that a lot of other “sushi purists” have a problem with their a bit fancy approach to sushi. I don’t think I am a sushi purist, and usually I like for restaurants to experiment, but some of the things that they served was food you expect at McDonald’s than a sushi place.

We had some ok things like their crusted sesame seed tuna with deep-fried onion and spinach that both looked good and tasted ok. Their creamy salmon roll I also kind of liked even though it was falling apart while eating it. Other than that… not good at all. We tried one mozzarella shrimp dish which was the one that reminded me of a fast food place. It tasted as if they had had a bit too much lemon in their rice. I know sushi places uses that to get it right, and also take away smell, but here they had used too much. It ruined my tempura shrimp. We also got the feeling of that the service was a bit rushed because of all the people.

Summary:

It really was not that bad. But I think it was the high expectations that did it again. It was nothing special, and since we expected a lot, the fall just feels higher. Maybe we got unlucky, maybe we came too late - who knows. It was not a treat, and we went home unsatisfied. It was a bit cheaper than expected, though. That was good.

Overall rating:
Presentation:
Fish/rice:
Service:
Price level:	OK
Times visited:	1

General information:

Street address: 11680 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604
Opening hours: Lunch: Mon - Fri: 11.30-2, Sat: 12- 2.30,
Dinner: Mon-Fri 5.30-10, Fri-Sat: 5.30-10.30, Sun: 5.30-9.30
Phone number: 818 985 6976

How did you like Katsu-ya - Studio City, Los Angeles

• Not at all!
• Mediocre
• Ok
• Quite good
• Delicious!

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